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Another city bans free speech. Chilling. Read this.
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Seattle Imposes Ad Ban to Annul Pamela Geller’s Free Speech Lawsuit Victory
Officials who oversee Seattle’s transit system moved to ban political, religious, and other ads from its facilities and public transportation vehicles soon after Pamela Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) prevailed in a freedom of speech lawsuit against the city, earning the right to run FBI’s Most Wanted terrorist posters, Breitbart News has learned.
By: Edwin Mora, Breitbart, April 16, 2019:
“People should realize that this is a struggle for the very foundation of any free society: the freedom of speech. If there is a group you can’t criticize, then that group can impose tyranny over you. If we lose this free speech battle, all our other freedoms are lost” Geller recently told Breitbart News via email.
She argued the advertisement ban sidestepped the September 2018 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling in AFDI’s favor, which allowed the group to advertise the Most Wanted terrorist list in Seattle.
However, the new restrictions, dubbed the “Geller ban” and instituted in December 2018 by the King County Department of Transportation’s Transit Division that oversees Seattle’s public transportation system, have ended up preventing AFDI from running the terrorist wanted ads, Geller pointed out, noting that her free speech lawsuit victory was bittersweet.
Before the appeal court’s ruling, judges had denied AFDI the right to place public service ads featuring images of the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists on Seattle’s public transportation system, due to a perceived disparagement of Islam.
The city’s rejection prompted AFDI to sue the King County Metro system for its suppression of free speech.
“We won the right to run the FBI wanted terrorist poster that Seattle prevailed upon the FBI to withdraw [ in 2013]. And as soon as we triumphed, Seattle transit imposed the infamous Geller ban, banning political, religious and cause-related ads in Seattle (following NY, Washington DC, Boston, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, etc),” Geller told Breitbart News in the email.
In a document outlining the transit agency’s advertising restrictions, King County officials noted that the policy bans advertising on transit facilities and vehicles that fall within the categories of political, religious, government (except for the county’s), and other forms of “speech.”
“They banned all political ads, as that was the only course of action they could possibly take in order to continue to avoid running my ads,” Geller said. “They’re so determined to continue whitewashing Islam and denying and obfuscating the roots of jihad terror that they are willing to lose immense amounts of revenue from all political advertising.”
Transit agency officials argued that their “viewpoint neutral” ban seeks to prohibit “advertisements that interfere with and divert resources from transit operations, that detract from transit purposes by creating substantial controversy, and/or that pose significant risks of harm, inconvenience, or annoyance to transit passengers, operators, and vehicles.”
“Such advertisements create an environment that is not conducive to achieving increased revenue for the benefit of the transit system or to preserving and enhancing the security, safety, comfort, and convenience of its operations,” the officials added.
Responding to the agency’s argument Geller noted, “I see ads that annoy me all the time. If that is the criterion [for the ban], whose annoyance counts, and whose doesn’t, and why?”
She told Breitbart News that King County’s decision to ban FBI wanted posters featuring some jihadis amounts to the “enforcement of Sharia blasphemy law in another American city.”
King County officials described the transit agency’s advertising ban as“restrictions” that “foster the maintenance of a professional advertising environment that maximizes advertising, revenue, and protects the interests of the captive audience that uses Metro’s transit services.”
In other words, the county’s transportation department believes that banning certain ads will allow the county to generate more revenue.
“The ban will, obviously, drastically curtail their ad revenues. To argue otherwise is plain deception” Geller noted.
Nevertheless, the county asserted that the advertising policy intends to fulfill the following goals:
Maximizing advertising revenue; maintaining a position of neutrality and preventing the appearance of favoritism or endorsement by the county; preventing the risk of imposing objectionable, inappropriate or harmful view on a captive audience; preserving the value of the advertising space; maximizing ridership and maintaining a safe environment for transit customers and other members of the public; avoiding claims of discrimination and maintaining a non-discriminatory environment for riders; preventing any harm or abuse that may result from running objectionable, inappropriate, or harmful advertisements; [and] reducing the diversion of resources from transit operations that is caused by objectionable, inappropriate or harmful advertisements.
Geller vowed to keep fighting for free speech all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to ensure Seattle upholds the appeal court’s ruling.
Another city bans free speech. Chilling. Read this.
Related:
Seattle Imposes Ad Ban to Annul Pamela Geller’s Free Speech Lawsuit Victory
Officials who oversee Seattle’s transit system moved to ban political, religious, and other ads from its facilities and public transportation vehicles soon after Pamela Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) prevailed in a freedom of speech lawsuit against the city, earning the right to run FBI’s Most Wanted terrorist posters, Breitbart News has learned.
By: Edwin Mora, Breitbart, April 16, 2019:
“People should realize that this is a struggle for the very foundation of any free society: the freedom of speech. If there is a group you can’t criticize, then that group can impose tyranny over you. If we lose this free speech battle, all our other freedoms are lost” Geller recently told Breitbart News via email.
She argued the advertisement ban sidestepped the September 2018 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling in AFDI’s favor, which allowed the group to advertise the Most Wanted terrorist list in Seattle.
However, the new restrictions, dubbed the “Geller ban” and instituted in December 2018 by the King County Department of Transportation’s Transit Division that oversees Seattle’s public transportation system, have ended up preventing AFDI from running the terrorist wanted ads, Geller pointed out, noting that her free speech lawsuit victory was bittersweet.
Before the appeal court’s ruling, judges had denied AFDI the right to place public service ads featuring images of the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists on Seattle’s public transportation system, due to a perceived disparagement of Islam.
The city’s rejection prompted AFDI to sue the King County Metro system for its suppression of free speech.
“We won the right to run the FBI wanted terrorist poster that Seattle prevailed upon the FBI to withdraw [ in 2013]. And as soon as we triumphed, Seattle transit imposed the infamous Geller ban, banning political, religious and cause-related ads in Seattle (following NY, Washington DC, Boston, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, etc),” Geller told Breitbart News in the email.
In a document outlining the transit agency’s advertising restrictions, King County officials noted that the policy bans advertising on transit facilities and vehicles that fall within the categories of political, religious, government (except for the county’s), and other forms of “speech.”
“They banned all political ads, as that was the only course of action they could possibly take in order to continue to avoid running my ads,” Geller said. “They’re so determined to continue whitewashing Islam and denying and obfuscating the roots of jihad terror that they are willing to lose immense amounts of revenue from all political advertising.”
Transit agency officials argued that their “viewpoint neutral” ban seeks to prohibit “advertisements that interfere with and divert resources from transit operations, that detract from transit purposes by creating substantial controversy, and/or that pose significant risks of harm, inconvenience, or annoyance to transit passengers, operators, and vehicles.”
“Such advertisements create an environment that is not conducive to achieving increased revenue for the benefit of the transit system or to preserving and enhancing the security, safety, comfort, and convenience of its operations,” the officials added.
Responding to the agency’s argument Geller noted, “I see ads that annoy me all the time. If that is the criterion [for the ban], whose annoyance counts, and whose doesn’t, and why?”
She told Breitbart News that King County’s decision to ban FBI wanted posters featuring some jihadis amounts to the “enforcement of Sharia blasphemy law in another American city.”
King County officials described the transit agency’s advertising ban as“restrictions” that “foster the maintenance of a professional advertising environment that maximizes advertising, revenue, and protects the interests of the captive audience that uses Metro’s transit services.”
In other words, the county’s transportation department believes that banning certain ads will allow the county to generate more revenue.
“The ban will, obviously, drastically curtail their ad revenues. To argue otherwise is plain deception” Geller noted.
Nevertheless, the county asserted that the advertising policy intends to fulfill the following goals:
Maximizing advertising revenue; maintaining a position of neutrality and preventing the appearance of favoritism or endorsement by the county; preventing the risk of imposing objectionable, inappropriate or harmful view on a captive audience; preserving the value of the advertising space; maximizing ridership and maintaining a safe environment for transit customers and other members of the public; avoiding claims of discrimination and maintaining a non-discriminatory environment for riders; preventing any harm or abuse that may result from running objectionable, inappropriate, or harmful advertisements; [and] reducing the diversion of resources from transit operations that is caused by objectionable, inappropriate or harmful advertisements.
Geller vowed to keep fighting for free speech all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to ensure Seattle upholds the appeal court’s ruling.
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) apparently traveled to the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, using taxpayer funds.
The post D.C.’s Democrat Mayor Attends Masters Golf Tournament on Taxpayer Dime to Promote ‘Economic Development’ appeared first on Breitbart.
A Washington state gynecologist has been charged with the repeated rape of a minor female family member, with prosecutors saying he did it over the course of more than six years.
The post Police: Washington Gynecologist Raped Minor Family Member over 6 Years appeared first on Breitbart.
The federal government and state officials ought to rebuild America's heartland by driving waves of mass immigration to the region, the editors of the Washington Post suggest.
The post Washington Post Editors: Rebuild Middle America with Mass Immigration appeared first on Breitbart.
A 13-year-old boy is accused of stealing a woman's purse and hitting her in Seattle on Wednesday, an incident that has disturbed neighbors.
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The Washington Commanders have decided to retire the number of legendary Redskin Darrell Green during the 2024 season.
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Anti-Israeli protesters established an encampment Thursday on the campus of George Washington University (GWU), in Washington, DC.
The post Anti-Israel Protesters Establish Encampment at George Washington University appeared first on Breitbart.
A suspect is under arrest after five people were shot on Friday outside of a nightclub in heavily gun-controlled Washington, DC.
The post Police: Suspect Under Arrest for Shooting Five People in Heavily Gun-Controlled Washington, DC appeared first on Breitbart.
Police arrested approximately 100 people at an anti-Israel encampment on Saturday at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
The post VIDEO: Officers Arrest 102 Anti-Israel Protesters on Northeastern University Campus appeared first on Breitbart.
The Metropolitan Police Department has lost more than 1,400 D.C. officers since the Democrat-controlled district passed a controversial law in 2022.
The post Metropolitan Police Department to Force Out 12 D.C. Police Officers Due to Controversial Law appeared first on Breitbart.
Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein was arrested with more than 100 others at an anti-Israel protest on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, her campaign said.
The post VIDEO: Jill Stein Arrested at Washington University Pro-Palestinian Protest appeared first on Breitbart.
A man in Lacey, Washington, was recently sentenced to 13 years for burying his wife alive claimed he suffered from mental illness and was "overmedicated and under treated" for PTSD.
The post VIDEO: Washington Man Sentenced for Burying Wife Alive Claims He Was ‘Overmedicated’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is pressuring the mayor of Washington, DC, Democrat Muriel Bowser, to get out of the way of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and let cops clear the rowdy leftist protesters off the campus of George Washington University.
The post Exclusive – Sen. Cotton to D.C. Mayor Bowser: Let Cops Clear Leftist Protests at George Washington University appeared first on Breitbart.
Eight years ago, the leftist media took great offense to being dismissed by Donald Trump as “fake news,” but they never seemed to grasp this is exactly how they painted the conservative media, as truth-defying propaganda outlets.
When the Trump trial turned to the National Enquirer, we could find national unity that the Enquirer defines “fake news.” The lefties are very excited to remind voters how the Enquirer was a Trump-allied tabloid full of garbage stories. But the liberal media spread some of them.
In May 2016, the Enquirer uncorked some garbage that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had cheated on his wife. ABC, CBS, and NBC spent a combined 15-and-a-half minutes spreading the word of this character assassination campaign.
The pro-Biden “media reporters” were still upset last week about the Enquirer and how it played “catch and kill” with Trump accusers, squelching stories that might embarrass Trump. NPR’s David Folkenflik complained to MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that burying salacious stories is “not a journalistic impulse, it’s not even a tabloid gossip impulse, this is essentially a partisan or propagandistic arm of the Trump campaign in all but name.”
This is coming from NPR, which aggressively trashed the Hunter Biden laptop story as a “pure distraction.” Folkenflik engaged with the story only to dismiss it as “a story marked more by red flags than investigative rigor.”
When The New York Times and The Washington Post published stories acknowledging Hunter’s laptop was real in March and April 2022, Folkenflik didn’t file a story with his regrets. He just kept attacking Fox News, his usual bread and butter.
So on the Hunter laptop, we can throw it back in Folkenflik’s face—NPR’s suppression was not a journalistic impulse, and NPR was essentially a propagandistic arm of the Biden campaign in all but name.
Worse yet, we fund it with our taxes. That gravy train should end.
Ex-CNN reporter Brian Stelter said the same thing on Joy Reid’s MSNBC show about the Enquirer: “It has nothing to do with journalism.” David Pecker’s “not a news man. He’s an advertiser! He’s a marketer, and his product was Donald Trump.” Thanks, Sherlock Stelter. Nobody should define Pecker as a news man.
Like Folkenflik, Stelter squashed the Hunter Biden laptop in 2020 as a Murdoch plot, or as a Russian disinformation campaign, because CNN’s a marketer and its product was anyone but Trump (meaning President Joe Biden).
Stelter also showed up on Alex Wagner’s MSNBC show. Wagner was hopping mad, asking what’s the point of a gag order on Trump when you have a “media-industrial complex that is effectively acting as a public defense line” for Trump? Once again, Wagner can’t imagine MSNBC acting as a “media-industrial complex” for the Democrats.
So, does Wagner wish the judge could issue a gag order for the entire conservative media landscape? No criticism allowed of the get-Trump prosecutors and judge? I thought this was a democracy.
Stelter broke out the usual bravado that the liberals live on “Earth One,” and they must see what’s happening on “Earth Two,” which is an alternative universe of hallucinations. Stelter claimed, “For Jesse Watters, Trump is God, and that is the programming every hour of every day on these other networks.”
That sounds like some crazy religion. Would Stelter survive a little fact-check on whether Fox and Newsmax perpetually pray hourly to the Orange Lord and Savior? Both sides suggest the other side of the media is fake. But both sides are slinging a lot of opinionated hot takes, and Stelter can certainly flip a flapjack on that skillet.
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The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.
The post Leftist Reporters Pretend They’re Not Partisan News Squashers appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Four zebras escaped a trailer in North Bend, Washington, on Sunday near I-90 and community members were shocked at the sight of them.
The post WATCH — ‘That Was a First’: Zebras Run Wild After Escaping Trailer in Washington State appeared first on Breitbart.
Anti-Israel protesters vandalized a statue of George Washington on the George Washington University (GWU) campus in Washington, DC.
The post Anti-Israel Protesters Vandalize George Washington Statue on GWU Campus appeared first on Breitbart.
Glenn Kessler, the so-called "fact checker" for the Washington Post, claimed that Joe Biden cannot be held responsible for what his deputies are spending on migrants as he worked to refute Donald Trump's slam on rent assistance programs.
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Sen. Roger Marshall is introducing legislation to prevent the District of Columbia from giving municipal voting rights to illegal aliens.
The post Sen. Roger Marshall Issues Plan to Stop D.C. from Allowing Illegal Aliens to Vote appeared first on Breitbart.
See scenes from inside the anti-Israel encampment set up by students on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, DC.
The post Watch Live: Inside the Anti-Israel Encampment at George Washington University appeared first on Breitbart.
On Thursday, it was announced that the National Park Service had approved the demolition of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium - better known as RFK Stadium - in Washington, D.C.
The post National Park Service Approves Demolition of RFK Stadium in D.C. appeared first on Breitbart.
Anti-Israel protesters projected President Joe Biden's face over an American flag that was hanging from a building behind their encampment at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, DC.
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A three-year-old girl was killed Friday in the southeast area of Democrat-controlled Washington, DC, when she was hit by a stray bullet.
The post VIDEO — ‘Senseless Killings’: Three-Year-Old Girl in D.C. Fatally Shot While Riding in Car appeared first on Breitbart.
After replacing the elite school’s American flag with a Palestinian one, anti-Israel activists at George Washington University called to “liberate” the world from “colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism, and Zionism,” as pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses continue to reveal the true agenda behind the spreading demonstrations.
The post GWU Anti-Israel Protesters Call to ‘Liberate’ World from ‘Colonialism, White Supremacy’ as U.S. Flag Replaced with Palestinian One appeared first on Breitbart.
A 17-year-old girl was shot Friday when a bullet soared through a window at Dunbar High School in Washington, DC.
The post High School Girl Shot When Bullet Came Through School Window in Gun-Controlled D.C. appeared first on Breitbart.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) believes that “young black kids growing up in the Bronx don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is.”
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Anti-Israel protesters gathered outside of George Washington University (GWU) President Ellen Granberg's home on Tuesday evening.
The post Anti-Israel Protesters Gather Outside GWU President’s Home: ‘We the Students Have the Power’ appeared first on Breitbart.
An anti-Israel tent encampment at George Washington University (GWU) was cleared early Wednesday morning with police arresting dozens of protesters, hours after others left the site and marched to President Ellen Granberg’s home.
The post Dozens of Arrests Made as Police Clear Anti-Israel Encampment at George Washington University appeared first on Breitbart.
A reporter with Turning Point USA's guerilla journalism team Frontlines was physically attacked by left-wing agitators on University of Washington's campus on Tuesday following the organization's founder Charlie Kirk appearing on campus for an event. Video footage shared by TPUSA showcased multiple brawls.
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On Saturday, while addressing reporters during the team's rookie workouts, Quinn wore a tee shirt that incorporated the feathers from the Redskins logo that the team walked away from in 2019 and the "W" from the Commanders new logo.
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Take cold showers? You first, Washington Post.
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An agency of the District of Columbia held a training session last month to teach illegal immigrants and other noncitizens how to vote, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch.
News of the training session held by the local government in the nation’s capital comes as House Republicans push a bill—with the backing of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.—to require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.
The D.C. Board of Elections conducted the April 10 event, called “Non-Citizen Voting Education Virtual Training.”
Judicial Watch obtained 13 pages of the training session’s PowerPoint presentation through a request under the Freedom of Information Act. On one slide, the presentation says:
Non-U.S. citizen residents can vote in District elections for the offices of Mayor, Attorney General, Chairman or member(s) of the D.C. Council, member(s) of the State Board of Education, or Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner(s) Non-U.S. citizen residents cannot vote for Federal Offices.
The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project previously raised concerns about noncitizen voting in the District of Columbia. (Heritage established The Daily Signal in 2014.)
Washington, DC’s Voter Guide for Illegal Aliens is up! pic.twitter.com/COeIpOba5w
— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) May 1, 2024
The District of Columbia is joined by local governments in California, Maryland, and Vermont in allowing foreign citizens to vote in local elections. Federal law allows only U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections.
State courts blocked New York City from allowing noncitizen voting there.
“Illegal aliens and noncitizens should not vote in any elections,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “That Congress allows the votes of citizens to be legally stolen by illegal aliens in our nation’s capital is inexcusable.”
The District of Columbia amended its election code last year to allow noncitizens, including illegal immigrants, to vote for local D.C. offices.
As noted in my book “The Myth of Voter Suppression,” Democrats long have sought to change election laws to gain a political advantage. These noncitizen voting laws mimic a tactic used by New York City’s legendary Tammany Hall and other political machines that controlled big city politics.
The District’s presentation explains the qualifications for registering to vote when someone isn’t a U.S. citizen.
“To register to vote in the District of Columbia as a non-citizen, you must: Be at least 17 years old and 18 years old by the next General Election; Maintain residency in the District of Columbia for at least 30 days prior to the election in which you intend to vote; Not claim voting residence or the right to vote in any state, territory, or country; Not been found by a court to be legally incompetent to vote,” the presentation says.
Neither the D.C. Board of Elections nor the office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on this report.
The post DC Holds Training Sessions for Noncitizens to Vote appeared first on The Daily Signal.
A teen who allegedly shot 26 rounds into a D.C. neighborhood has been released prior to trial by a self-confessed "woke" judge.
The post Teen Who Allegedly Shot 26 Rounds into D.C. Neighborhood Freed by ‘Woke’ Judge appeared first on Breitbart.
Seven pro-life activists were sentenced to years in federal prison on Tuesday and Wednesday for protesting at the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, DC, in 2020, an abortion clinic infamous for late-term abortions.
The post More Pro-Life Activists Sentenced to Years Behind Bars, Including Veteran, Two Women in Their 70s appeared first on Breitbart.
It's a dream scoop for the New York Times: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito displayed a "Stop the Steal" symbol outside his house! Unfortunately for the Times and reporter Jodi Kantor, there isn't any real evidence for that headline -- only a heaping helping of BlueAnon fever-swamp paranoia.
The post Dulis: NYT Suggests, Without Evidence, Justice Samuel Alito Sent ‘Stop the Steal’ Message Outside His Home appeared first on Breitbart.
House Republicans are raising concerns about alleged mistreatment of and the denial of necessary medical care for two jailed pro-life activists.
The post Republicans Raise Concerns About Alleged Mistreatment of Jailed Elderly Pro-Life Activists appeared first on Breitbart.
Vaunce News 
